Eleven-year-old Cory (Dan Byrd) is a foster child nobody wants. Carlotta (Julie Harris) is an elderly woman the world has forgotten. Together, they find friendship and family when they join a traveling circus. Mickey Rooney costars as excitable circus owner Boss Ed, with Charles Nelson Reilly as the clown who takes Cory under his wing and baseball great Joe DiMaggio in his last screen appearance as a kindly stranger who offers Cory baseball tips and encouragement. The title of this 1999 film refers to a novice circus performer in his first season on the circuit.